To Mayo and Back

          

The past few months have been filled with highs and lows. As for the highs, my foot pain has improved quite a bit. I have been able to walk considerable distances and stand for more than 10 minutes without wanting to scream. At the same time, the pain is still constant and while less intense, it is always there.

Also, for the past sixth months I have been suffering from debilitating back pain. It has been incredibly frustrating for me that as soon as my foot started to improve in the slightest, my back pain further debilitated my life. After a few months of this, I decided that enough was enough and made an appointment with Mayo Clinic (which isn’t as easy as it sounds, it took me 2 years and 4 attempts to get an appointment).

We made the trek up to Minnesota with hopefulness and also nervousness. I knew this was it – Mayo Clinic has the best doctors in the world and the most advanced medical treatment. If these doctors couldn’t help me, then no one could. The experience was truly amazing for several reasons: 1) Mayo Clinic doctors do not have any patient quotas, which means that they can spend as much time as necessary on each patient; 2) there is very little wait time – in 3.5 days, I saw 7 doctors (many more than once) and had more tests done than I can count; 3) instant results – the doctors had results from any test in 10 minutes.

I saw two orthopedic foot/ankle doctors and a neurologist, and they concluded that my remaining foot pain was due to nerve issues. Unfortunately, they did not see any “fix” for this, and it is simply something that I must live with. However, they suggested trying different medications to help with the pain. Currently I am taking Gabapentin. Have any of your suffered nerve complications from your surgery? If so, any luck with Gabapentin or other medicines?

As for my back, I found out that I managed to have a stress fracture in my lower rib without ever knowing it. This led to concern as my foot problems started with a stress fracture as well. It turns out that my bones have low density for my age, which with treatment can be resolved. I am so happy to have found this out now, as who knows how many more times I could have injured myself in the coming years!

The pain is still there and I am still waiting for the day when I can live normally again, and think about anything other than the pain. It’s a daily struggle, but I am so glad to have you all to walk along this path together.